Leveling means for aluminum siding panel



A ril 9, 1968 G. EPSTEIN 3,376,583

LEVELING MEANS FOR ALUMINUM SIDING PANEL vFiled Oct. 23, 1965 vm m.

Thi

FIG. 4 INVENTOR.

GEORGE EPSTEIN BY JAM.

A TTORNEYS United States Patent Cfifice 3,376,683 Patented Apr. 9, 19683,376,683 LEVELING MEANS FOR ALUMINUM SIDING PANEL George Epstein,Akron, Ohio, assignor to Alside, Inc., Akron, Ohio, a corporation ofOhio Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 502,844 1 Claim. (Cl. 52-553) Thisinvention relates to the art of aluminum siding and in particular hasreference to means for securing siding panels to the uneven surfaces ofexisting walls so that the same are uniformly disposed with regard to animaginary vertical plane.

In the art of aluminum siding manufacture it has long been known thatsiding panels can be provided with upper and lower marginal edges thatare specially shaped for interlocking purposes, with nailing tabs ofvarious types being struck from the upper marginal edge so as to securethe panel to an existing wall surface in interlocked relationship to anadjacent panel.

The nailing edge above referred to is usually either defined by a seriesof tabs containing nail holes as shown in Rauen US. Patent 2,991,592, ora continuous strip with spaced nail holes as shown in Domar US. Patent3,157,003. In either case the nailing surface is intended to be parallelto an imaginary vertical plane during and after installation foraesthetic purposes and also to permit proper interlocking betweenadjacent panels.

In the normal instance nails are merely driven through the holes in thenailing surface to attach the same to the existing wall with the head ofthe nail abutting one side of the nailing surface and with the otherside of the nailing surface abutting the wall surface to form a tightconnection.

It has been found, however, that the existing wall surfaces to which thepanels are nailed are not always even or perfectly vertical. Thus, inusing conventional nailing tabs or strips, when the nails are driven allthe way into an uneven wall surface the heads of adjacent nails will notbe in the same plane and the panel will be deformed to coincide with theunevenness of the wall.

This distracts from the aesthetic appearance of the completed job andalso makes it difficult to interlock the aforesaid panels, since thelocking flanges are distorted throughout their length to preclude properinterfitting. Also it should 'be noted that if the nails are driven inso that all the nail heads are maintained in the same plane, there willbe a loose connection in depressed areas of the wall since there will beno abutted relationship between the nail head, the nailing surface andthe wall.

It has been found that the aforementioned ditficulties can be obviatedby providing axially collapsible leveling means which have their opposedaxial ends bearing against the nail head and nailing surfacerespectively so as to provide a supported relationship therebetweenwhile simultaneously etfectuating a leveled condition of the nailingedges.

In the preferred form of the invention, the leveling means compriseaxially collapsible hollow inserts that may be received in the nailopenings for reception of the usual nails, with the insert collapsingduring nailing to varying degrees to compensate for unevenness in thewall surface while maintaining the nailing tab itself in a straight edgecondition.

In this fashion the head of an insert will abut one side of the nailingtab or strip while the opposed side of the nailing tab abuts the bowedout portion of the collapsed insert, with the opposed end of thecollapsed insert in turn abutting the wall surface. Thus, the nailingtab or strip is maintained in true vertical position regardless of itsdistance from the wall surface.

It has further been found that by providing a series of lands andgrooves on the nailing insert, that the collapsible features thereofwill be enhanced.

It has further been discovered that similar results can be achieved bystriking the tab to provide integral nail receiving members of similarshape to the aforesaid inserts, with the integral mem'bers performingidentical to said inserts.

Accordingly, production of a collapsible leveling means of the typeabove described becomes the principal object of this invention, withobjects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of the followingbrief specification, interpreted in the light of the accompanyingdrawings.

Of the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a panel partially broken away andshown secured to a wall surface by a series of nails inserted through anequivalent number of leveling inserts.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a section of the panel secured to anuneven wall surface and showing the leveling inserts in variouscollapsed positions.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the leveling insert in uncollapsedposition.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the leveling insert in partiallycollapsed position.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation showing one panel secured to an uneven walland another panel interlocked with the first panel and in the process ofbeing secured thereto with the leveling insert and nail being explodedtherefrom.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the integral tab construction.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIGURES l and 5thereof, it will first be noted that identical siding panels 10, 10 aresecured to a wall surface W in interlocking relationship with respect toeach other by the use of inserts 2G, 20 and with such inserts beingpositioned between the upper nailing edges 12, 12 of each panel and thewall member W so as to receive nail members 30, 30 therethrough as shownin FIGURE 1.

In this regard the panels 10, 10 are identical and include, in additionto the upper nailing edge 12, a central body portion 11, an upperlocking rib 13, and a lower inturned edge 14 that has an in-turnedflange 14a for the purpose of interlocking with the member 13 as clearlyshown in FIGURE 5.

Additionally, and as best shown in FIGURE 1, the upper nailing edge 12includes front and rear surfaces 12b and 12c, a top surface 12d and aseries of opposed nailing holes 12a, 12a.

The inserts 20, 20 per se are best shown and described in FIGURES 1, 3and 4 of the drawings, wherein it will be noted that such inserts aregenerally of tubular configuration so as to include a hollow bodyportion 21, an enlarged head 22, and a blind end wall 23, with theinserts preferably being made of a resilient plastic-like material suchas polyethylene for the purpose of facilitating the requisite axialcollapsing thereof during installation of the siding panels 10, 10.

To facilitate such collapse the tubular body portion 21 is provided witha series of rib-like circumferential projections 24, 24 that define landareas 23, 23 therebetween, with such an arrangement facilitating thecollapse from the normal position of FIGURE 3 to the collapsed, bowedposition of FIGURE 4.

Turning next then to FIGURES 2 and 5, for a discussion of theapplication of the panel 10 to the wall W and considering first FIGURE2, it will be noted that the wall surface W is uneven and thus, when thepanel 10 is secured thereto, it is merely necessary to insert theleveling inserts 20, 20 into the nail holes 12a, 12a followed byinsertion of the nails 30, 30 into the insert whereupon the same pierceswall 23 so as to be capable of being driven into the wall W. During suchdriving, when the head 32 of each nail contacts the head 22 of theinsert it is believed apparent that further driving pressure on the nail30 will cause the insert 20 to be axially collapsed to the bowedcondition shown in FIGURES 2, 4 and 5.

At this time head 22 of insert 20 will abut surface 1212, while surface12c of nailing strip 12 will abut the bowedout body 21 of the insert,with the opposed end 23 of the insert abutting the wall surface W, tothus insure a tight connection between the panel and the wall W.

It should be kept in mind here that the surfaces 12b and 120 should beperpendicular to the ground and in this regard, and as shown in FIGURE2, this can be accomplished by driving adjacent nails 30, 30 into thewall varying depths. In this fashion the unevenness of the wall surfaceis compensated for but the panel 10 is securely attached to the wall Wand surfaces 12b and 12c are maintained in a continuous vertical plane.

FIGURE 5, an elevation, shows another application of the features ofthis invention where again the wall surface W is uneven with respect tovertical plane V. In this regard the bottom panel 10 is secured to thewall with nail 30 being driven into the wall W far enough to retain thenailing surface 12 in a vertical position. The bottom fiange 14 of theadjacent panel is then interlocked to the upper flange 13 of the firstpanel and the panel is nailed to the wall so that the surfaces 12b and12c of the nailing strip 12 are again vertical and in line with thecorresponding surfaces of the panel below. This process may be repeateduntil all panels are in place.

Thus, it has been shown that by providing collapsible leveling insertsfor use with aluminum siding panels, the panels can be secured to anyexisting wall surface regardless of the unevenness thereof and with theresulting completed paneled wall being in perfect alignment and beingsecurely interlocked.

It should be noted that while nailing strips are referred to herein, theinvention can also be used with nailing tabs with equal advantage.

It should also be noted that no particular material is specified for theinserts, with it being understood that materials such as plastic, whichare compressible are ap propriate.

Also and with reference to the provision of means for assisting in thedesired axial collapse, it is to be noted that other means such asgrooves or provision of an accordion-like cross sectional configurationcould be employed, with it being provided in each instance of suchconstruction that the tubular body portion have inherent recoveryproperty in its deformed condition so as to, in effect, assert aseparating pressure between panel and wall to thus insure a tightconnection.

The modified form of the invention shown in FIGURE 6 envisions the useof an integral nail receiving terminal 60 that replaces the insertpreviously described in connection with FIGURES 1 through 5.

Preferably, the member 60 is struck from the tab 12 and is provided withthe groove 61 that facilitates deflection to the chain-dotted lineposition shown in FIGURE 6. Op-

eration of the modified form of the invention would merely involve theinsertion of the nails through the member for piercing engagement withwall W.

It will also be seen how the aforementioned invention permits the directapplication of aluminum paneling to masonry wall surfaces due to thefact that the plastic inserts will serve as an insulation to space thepanel from the masonry wall per se.

While a full and complete description of the invention has been setforth in accordance with the dictates of the patent statutes, it is tobe understood that the invenion is not intended to be limited to thespecific embodiment shown and that modifications of the invention may beresorted to without departing from the spirit hereof orthe scope of theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. An aluminum siding panel of the character described,

comprising;

(A) a unitary panel having (1) a flat body section having front and rearfaces,

(2) a nailing edge defined by the upper edgeof said body section,

(3) a lower edge adapted to interlock with the upper edge of anidentical adjacent panel;

(B) and leveling means (1) carried by and projecting rearwardly of saidnailing edge,

(2) being adapted to receive a nail therethrough whereby said panel canbe secured with respect I to a wall surface,

(3) and means for varying the extent of rearward projection of saidleveling means whereby said nailing edge can be secured to said wall instraight line condition notwithstanding unevenness in said wall surface,

(4) said leveling means being integral with said nailing edge andincluding an external groove extending circumferentially thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,853,488 4/1932 Ziedrich 526832,263,919 11/1941 Darragh 52393 X 2,376,279 5/1945 Schlenkert 52-99 X2,853,330 9/1958 Harry 52-478 X 2,991,592 7/1961 Rauen.

3,001,332 9/1961 Wilder 52-521 X 3,157,003 11/1964 Domar.

3,246,436 4/1966 Roush 52521 X 3,299,766 1/1967 Gould et al 50 X FOREIGNPATENTS 648,772 8/1937 Germany.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

ALFRED C. PERI-1AM, Examiner.

1. AN ALUMINUM SIDING PANEL OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, COMPRISING; (A)A UNITARY PANEL HAVING (1) A FLAT BODY SECTION HAVING FRONT AND REARFACES, (2) A NAILING EDGE DEFINED BY THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID BODYSECTION, (3) A LOWER EDGE ADAPTED TO INTERLOCK WITH THE UPPER EDGE OF ANIDENTICAL ADJACENT PANEL; (B) AND LEVELING MEANS (1) CARRIED BY ANDPROJECTING REARWARDLY OF SAID NAILING EDGE, (2) BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVEA NAIL THERETHROUGH WHEREBY SAID PANEL CAN BE SECURED WITH RESPECT TO AWALL SURFACE, (3) AND MEANS FOR VARYING THE EXTENT OF REARWARDPROJECTION OF SAID LEVELING MEANS WHEREBY SAID NAILING EDGE CAN BESECURED TO SAID WALL IN STRAIGHT LINE CONDITION NOTWITHSTANDINGUNEVENNESS IN SAID WALL SURFACE, (4) SAID LEVELING MEANS BEING INTEGRALWITH SAID NAILING EDGE AND INCLUDING AN EXTERNAL GROOVE EXTENDINGCIRCUMFERENTIALLY THEREOF.